TIME FOR A CHANGE

The garden evolves naturally but sometimes it’s good to change things around more radically than just the odd plant. Now my camera is at last repaired I can show you what we have been up to in the garden and also what still needs to be done.
This is what the area at the back of the house looked like when we moved in.

In 2001 we had a complete revamp and the next photo shows most of the garden before I had planted anything. I soon found that plants did not thrive in the area at the back of the house, it was too damp and gloomy for much of the year with no great depth of decent soil.

This summer we were doing some renovation work on the raised patio area and at the same time came up with the solution to the problem area. My new raised beds! The door in the background is my ‘den’, more about that later…..

This is a view looking away from the house showing the existing raised bed. These are very useful when the ground seems to get further down the more time goes on!

I have shown you the best bits, now for the bits still requiring attention!

Four weeks ago I scarified the ‘lawn’ as it had a hard time during the construction of the raised beds. Then I applied feed which is still waiting for rain to water it in properly so now the grass looks like this…

The patio renovation is still work in progress(?) and is a long job (I’m the skivvy, mixing up cement and cleaning up etc.), slowed down by the hot weather and still looks like this….

My potting shed/greenhouse (my den) is badly in need of a tidy up!! This is really the back part of our long garage sectioned off but has a clear insulated roof so is great for overwintring borderline plants and growing things on early in the year. I love pottering about in here when it’s raining – perhaps it will rain soon and then I can do the tidying up. Here it is…..

This blog has taken ages and has been a real battle with technology but I think I know what I’m doing now (sort of). I hope you like it!

Comments

Thankyou Lily for showing us around your garden, I can see that a lot of hard work has gone into it and the benifits are clear to see, it is now a lovely garden, the work in process is always going to be there, when you finish one job another raises it's head, a bit like painting the Forth Bridge :o)
As regards the technology after a couple more blogs and adding photo's you will wonder what all the fuss was about, it will be a piece of cake by then.

Well done Lily,loved the tour and your garden looks great,have to agree with Bob we just keep going all the time its addictive and therefore we make work for ourselves,lol. As to the techno side I,m ok sometimes and others I get in a right pickle,I just blame my age!!!!!!!!!l Lol.

I think it already looks gerat. the patio is really coming on. And the planting very colourful. My grass is looking brown, as well, due to lack of rain and too much hot sun and strong winds!
Nice blog, worth the work!

oh my gosh you have worked hard to get it where it now is beautiful job hard work pays off and when you work with your hands look at the outcome it is beautiful Job thanks for shareing so much of you with us.

Thanks everybody for your lovely comments. Now it has rained my grass should turn green with no help from me.
Yes Alice, I admit to being the owner of public enemy No.1 the dreaded 15' leylandii! We inherited it but it does dominate our small garden and I have tried to minimise this effect in the design. Would rather not have it but the neighbours like it(!) and so do a multitude of nesting birds which we love to watch. It also gives us both great privacy as we are very close. Have considered lowering it by at least 1/3 but the tree man who trims it every year says it's dodgy whether it would ever look good again so maybe 'better the devil you know'...... Would love to remove it and plant large evergreen shrubs like Photinia, Ceanothus etc and allow them to reach their full potential which I can't do elsewhere in this small garden, but have to persuade hubby first! Do you fancy digging the roots out?

Thanks Balcony, it's as you say and that's one of the reasons we love it!
Thank you too Ginellie, it is a whole row of leylandii about 40' long and 10' wide but I don't think they would transplant very well otherwise your son could come and start digging now!

Sandra, I replied to you earlier in this blog and it's not here! It's that b****y submit button AGAIN!!! doh....
Yes we put our mark on it but after seeing all the other lovely gardens on here I now feel like putting a completely different mark on it. Well that's not going to happen so I'll carry on tweaking it a bit! Yes I love my potting shed, apart from the spiders!! :o(((

the troub le is when we like gardening we always want something else because we see so many ideas, i just orderd a pink fluffy pampas grass off ebay £2.21 woohoo,, cant wait, its only small but will soon grow lily,

I'll have a look. I think they're one of God's creatures ! ha Got a beautiful little one that's made his home between the top of the kitchen window and the pot plant in the middle. Means I can't clean the windows ! Oh shame, never mind !! lol x